Paper Assignment Topic: ?Land, Growth, and Justice: The Removal of the Cherokees? (Chapter 7) in William Bruce Wheeler, Susan Becker, and Lori Glover, Discovering the American Past: A Look at the Evidence.

The forced Cherokee Indian Removal brought to an end a long debate within the United States. ?As white populations mushroomed and settlements moved ever westward, the question of how to deal with Native Americans came up again and again, especially when Native American peoples refused to sell or give their lands to whites by treaty.? By 1828, three key events brought significant challenges to the Cherokee ability to remain on their homeland. First, the discovery of gold brought a flood of white settlers onto Cherokee lands. Second, Andrew Jackson?s position on Indian removal was well known and his presidential victory meant new pressure on Indians to remove. Third, Georgia passed new legislation that extended its jurisdiction over all Cherokee territory within Georgia?s borders.
As removal pressure on Indians mounted, both whites and natives divided on the best solution to the problem. Some whites supported removal, while others opposed it. At the same time, natives could not agree on a united response to the increased white pressure. After reading all of the evidence, write a 4-6-page paper that argues whether the Cherokee should have been removed or permitted to remain in their homeland, and why. (You will not be thought of as a ?bad? person if you think the Cherokee should have been removed, just back it up with the evidence.)
Your paper must have an argument that clearly explains your position. In other words, you must clearly explain (and support with the evidence) why the Cherokee should have been removed from, or why they should have been permitted to remain in, their homeland. You must also underline that argument. If you cannot clearly explain your position, and underline that argument, how do you expect your TA to know your argument? Your paper will be penalized if you do not underline your argument.
Your paper must cite at least four pieces of evidence. You must use a mix of White sources and Cherokee sources. You may use information from the ?Background? section of the chapter, but your evidence must come from the ?Evidence? section of the chapter. Use of any outside sources (not in DTAP chapter 7) will result in an F. Citations must be in the form of a footnote/endnote (see the footnote used in the first paragraph for an example of proper formatting)- parenthetical reference citations will be penalized. The citation should include the name of the source and if it is a White or Cherokee source. Here is an example: ?Excerpt from President Andrew Jackson?s First Annual Message to Congress, December 8, 1829,? white source, p. 187-189.)
Your paper must be 4-6 pages in length, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced. It is due at the beginning of lecture on Thursday April 10.

MUST USE ONLY THIS SOURCE:
William Bruce Wheeler, Susan Becker, and Lori Glover – Discovering the American Past: A Look at the Evidence